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Seasonality of Deaths Due to Heart Diseases among Cancer Patients
Velizar Shivarov1, Hristo Shivarov2, Angel Yordanov3
1Department of Experimental Research, Medical University Pleven, 5800 Pleven, Bulgaria.
Insights
Cancer patients experience seasonal heart disease fatalities, peaking in early November. This pattern mirrors the general population, suggesting increased cardiovascular monitoring is needed during late autumn and winter.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Cardiology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Cancer patients face elevated risks of cardiac toxicity and mortality.
- Cardiac morbidity and mortality exhibit known seasonal patterns.
- The study investigates if cancer patient heart disease deaths also follow seasonal trends.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the seasonality of heart disease-related fatalities in cancer patients.
- To compare the seasonal pattern in cancer patients to the general population.
- To identify specific cancer types that may deviate from this seasonal pattern.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 503,243 heart disease deaths in newly diagnosed cancer patients (1975-2016).
- Utilized data from the US Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.
- Applied a classical cosinor model to assess seasonality and identify annual peaks.
Main Results:
- A significant seasonal peak in heart disease-related fatalities was observed in early November.
- This seasonal pattern was consistent across demographic subgroups and most cancer types.
- Exceptions included acute leukemias, pancreatic cancer, and nervous system malignancies, which lacked a seasonal pattern.
Conclusions:
- Heart disease fatalities in cancer patients follow a seasonal pattern, similar to the general population but with an earlier November peak.
- This finding underscores the need for heightened cardiovascular surveillance in cancer survivors, particularly from late autumn through winter.
- The consistent pattern suggests shared environmental or behavioral factors influencing cardiovascular health in both cancer patients and the general population.
Abstract:
Background and Objectives: Cancer patients are at increased short- and long-term risk of cardiac toxicity and mortality. It is well-known that cardiac morbidity and mortality follows a seasonal pattern. Here we address the question of whether heart disease-related fatalities among cancer patients also follow a seasonal pattern. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of seasonality of deaths due to heart diseases (n = 503,243) in patients with newly diagnosed cancer reported during the period from 1975 to 2016 in the US's largest cancer registry-the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Seasonality was assessed through a classical cosinor model assuming a single annual peak. Results: We identified a significant seasonal peak in the first half of November. A peak with identical features was for all subgroups of patients defined based on demographic characteristics. This was also the case when analysis was performed on subgroups defined by the type of malignancy. Only patients with acute leukemias, pancreatic cancer and nervous system malignancies did not have a seasonal pattern in heart disease-related fatalities. Conclusion: the rate of heart disease-related fatalities after cancer diagnosis follows a seasonal pattern similar to that observed for the general population, albeit with an earlier peak in November. This suggests that close monitoring of the cardiovascular system in cancer survivors must be particularly active from late autumn and during the entire winter period.
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